Greater Cambridge Local Plan Issues & Options 2020

Land at xx and Land to the north of xx were promoted to the call for sites process in March 2019 on behalf of xx. Natural Cambridgeshire’s Developing with Nature Toolkit seeks to achieve a net gain in biodiversity through new development. It is agreed that development, and in particular large-scale development with sufficient land available, can deliver significant biodiversity enhancements. It is suggested that in deciding sites to allocate for development the emerging GCLP assesses not only whether the potential impacts on protected species and habitats can be mitigated but also whether development can deliver biodiversity enhancements. The promoted developments at land at xx and land to the north of xx would retain any ecological features on site and seek to provide ecological enhancements. It should be noted that there is sufficient space within the sites to include those ecological enhancement measures on site in conjunction with development.

It is considered that meeting housing and affordable housing needs is part of the well-being and social inclusion theme because housing falls within the social objective of sustainable development (as set out in Paragraph 8 of the NPPF). There are substantial affordability issues in Greater Cambridge associated with the high cost of buying and renting housing, and those that cannot afford to live in Cambridge or South Cambridgeshire close to employment opportunities having to endure longer commuting. Paragraph 8 and Chapter 8 of the NPPF identifies the other factors that relate to the wellbeing and social inclusion theme, which are about creating well-designed and safe developments, providing access to services and facilities, and providing open space. It is suggested that to achieve ‘good growth’ the emerging GCLP will need to allocate suitable sites that deliver housing and affordable housing, are accessible to services and facilities, include open space and recreation facilities. The promoted development at land at Two Mill Field and land to the north of Oakington Road in Cottenham would include housing, affordable housing and self-build plots, open space and other green infrastructure. The promoted developments would support the existing services and facilities within Cottenham.

Paragraph 91 of the NPPF seeks to deliver healthy, inclusive and safe places, and identifies a number of approaches to support healthy lifestyles. It promotes social interaction through mixed-use developments, strong neighbourhood centres, street layouts that include pedestrian and cycle connections, and active street frontages for example. It enables and supports healthy lifestyles, by providing green infrastructure, sports facilities, local shops, access to healthier food, allotments, and layouts that encourage walking and cycling for example. NHS England Healthy Towns Initiatives identified ten principles to deliver healthy places, which relate to the provision of health services, meeting local and community health needs, and development design matters. In terms of design matters it is suggested that compact neighbourhoods, active travel, healthy eating opportunities, play and leisure facilities would contribute towards the delivery of healthy places. It is considered that the promoted developments at land at Two Mill Field and land to the north of Oakington Road in Cottenham would be consistent with guidance and initiatives to support healthy lifestyles. The promoted developments would include open space, and would be accessible to the existing sport and recreation areas in Cottenham. They are accessible to the services and facilities within Cottenham by walking and cycling. There is a good range of services and facilities provided in Cottenham including a variety of convenience stores, doctor’s surgery and dentist, which are all related to supporting healthy lifestyles.

The emerging GCLP will need to be consistent with national guidance on meeting housing needs. Paragraph 59 of the NPPF confirms the Government’s objective to significantly boost the supply of housing, and to achieve this by ensuring that a sufficient amount and variety of land for housing is identified. Paragraph 60 expects the standard method to be used to determine the minimum number of houses needed. Paragraph 61 expects the size, type and tenure of housing needs of the community to be assessed and reflected in planning policies, including for example those with an affordable housing need, students, renters and self-builders. Section Id.2a of the Planning Practice Guidance explains how housing and economic needs assessments should be undertaken, including how to calculate local housing needs using the standard method. Paragraph 010 of Id.2a makes it clear that the standard method is the minimum starting point for determining local housing needs, and acknowledges that there may be circumstances where actual housing need is higher than the standard method indicates. As set out in Paragraph 010 the circumstances where increases to housing need that exceed past trends are as follows: there is a growth strategy in place to promote and facilitate additional growth; strategic infrastructure improvements are likely to lead to an increase in the number of homes needed locally; and, an authority has agreed to accommodate unmet housing needs from a neighbouring area. The first two circumstances are relevant to Greater Cambridge. Paragraph 024 of Id.2a explains how the need for affordable housing is calculated, and it is suggested that the overall housing target should be increased where it could help deliver the required number of affordable homes. There is an urgent need to improve the affordability of housing and to boost affordable housing delivery in Greater Cambridge. Therefore, the emerging GCLP should use the standard method to calculate the minimum local housing need, and then make appropriate adjustments taking into account the growth strategies and strategic infrastructure improvements identified for Greater Cambridge, and a further adjustment to ensure affordable housing needs are met.

Yes, strongly agree

Yes. As set out in the response to Question 31, upward adjustments to the minimum figure derived from the standard method are required to take into account growth strategies, strategic infrastructure improvements and housing affordability in Greater Cambridgeshire. The National Infrastructure Commission, the Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority and the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership acknowledge and support the economic growth potential of the Greater Cambridge area, and consider that there is a need to substantially increase housing delivery in order to support that economic growth and address the significant housing affordability issues that exist.

Paragraph 61 of NPPF expects the size, type and tenure of housing needs of the community to be assessed and reflected in planning policies, including for example those with an affordable housing need, students, renters and self-builders. It is noted that the existing and planned new settlements in South Cambridgeshire and some of the strategic sites are not delivering policy compliant levels of affordable housing. As such, it is considered that emerging GCLP should seek to allocate sites which are capable of delivering policy compliant levels of affordable housing. The promoted developments at land at Two Mill Field and land to the north of Oakington Road in Cottenham would include housing and affordable housing and potentially self-build plots.

Paragraph 103 of the NPPF seeks to ensure that development is located where the need to travel will be minimised and the use of sustainable transport modes can be maximised. Therefore, the site selection process for potential allocations in emerging CGLP will be an important part of increasing travel by sustainable modes of transport. The promoted sites at land at Two Mill Field and land to the north of Oakington Road in Cottenham would be accessible by walking, cycling and public transport to the services and facilities within the village. Cottenham is connected to Cambridge by frequent bus services. There is a shared use path between Cottenham and Histon. Therefore, the promoted sites are sustainable in transport terms, and for this reason they should be allocated in the emerging GCLP.

Highly flexible

It is noted that the existing defined settlement boundaries for most villages in South Cambridgeshire, including Cottenham, have remained largely unchanged since the Local Plan 2004; although sites were allocated in some villages in the Site Specific Allocations DPD in 2010 and for the adopted South Cambridgeshire Local Plan 2018. It is very likely that most of the development opportunities within existing village boundaries would have been taken up by now. It is noted that in recent years a number of planning applications have approved and appeals have been allowed for residential developments on sites located outside the settlement boundary for Cottenham. It is not clear whether the Councils have undertaken an assessment of the capacity of villages, including Cottenham, to accommodate additional development; it is likely that such an assessment would demonstrate that the capacity is limited. Cottenham is designated as a Rural Centre. It has a good range of services and facilities including a supermarket and convenience stores; post office; doctors surgeries; dentist; library; public houses; restaurant/takeaway; bank; schools; village hall and meeting spaces. If, as expected, there is limited capacity for additional development in Cottenham then additional sites on the edge of the settlement should be identified in emerging CGLP.

Dispersal: Villages, Public Transport Corridors, Edge of Cambridge: Outside Green Belt, Edge of Cambridge: Green Belt, Densification of existing urban areas, Dispersal: New Settlements

It is considered that in reality the development strategy for emerging GCLP will be based on a combination of spatial distribution options, including development at the more sustainable villages. The scale of development that occurs at individual villages will depend on the level of services and facilities. Cottenham is an example of a settlement that could accommodate additional development, as explained in the call for sites submissions.

It is considered that the growth of villages must be part of the development strategy for emerging GCLP, and there is national guidance that supports this approach. Paragraph 78 of the NPPF seeks to promote sustainable development in rural areas and acknowledges that housing can enhance or maintain the vitality of rural communities and support local services. The promoted development at land at Two Mill Field and land to the north of Oakington Road in Cottenham would support the existing services and facilities in the village. Paragraph 68 acknowledges the role that small and medium sized sites can make towards meeting the housing requirements, and that such sites are often built-out relatively quickly. Small and medium sized sites typically only require limited new physical infrastructure and amendments to the access arrangements. The housing monitoring data from Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire confirms that small and medium sites are delivered quickly i.e. within two to three years. It is considered that small and medium sized sites make a significant contribution towards the short term housing land supply and the five year housing land supply position in Greater Cambridgeshire. Therefore, it is requested that medium sized sites such as land at Two Mill Field and land to the north of Oakington Road in Cottenham is allocated to meet the requirement for a mix of sites including medium sized sites that are easily deliverable. Paragraph 102 of the NPPF expects transport issues to be considered at the earliest stages of plan-making. Those issues include opportunities created by existing or proposed transport infrastructure in terms of the scale, location and density of development, and opportunities to promote walking, cycling and public transport use. Paragraph 103 expects significant development to be focused on locations which are or can be made sustainable. As set out in the response to Qu.37, the promoted developments at land at Two Mill Field and land to the north of Oakington Road in Cottenham would be accessible by walking, cycling and public transport to the services and facilities within the village. Cottenham is connected to Cambridge by frequent bus services. There is a shared use path between Cottenham and Histon. As set out in the call for sites submissions, there are no significant constraints to development at land at Two Mill Field and land to the north of Oakington Road in Cottenham. The current agricultural access to the Oakington Road site would need to be upgraded to accommodate the promoted development, but sufficient land is available to accommodate junction improvements. It is not currently possible to gain vehicular access to the Two Mill Field site from the public highway, but access could be gained via the committed development to the west.